Too much use of Asbos for teenagers, says ex-prison head

Martin Narey, former head of the prison and probation service, yesterday criticised the "routine use of Asbos" for teenagers and said too many youngsters were being locked up for breaching the orders.

Mr Narey, who resigned in December from his job as a Home Office permanent secretary, said that when antisocial behaviour orders were introduced in April 1999 they were only supposed to be used for under-18s in exceptional cases. New Home Office figures, to be published today, are expected to show a record number of Asbos issued against teenagers.

"When they were introduced the guidance was that they be used on children only in exceptional circumstances. There were only 61 in almost a two-year period to the end of 2000," said Mr Narey, now chief executive of Barnardo's.

"By contrast, there were more than 500 child Asbos in 2003, more than 1,000 in 2004 and we can expect the figures for 2005 to be much worse. This is not exceptional use."

So far, 2,431 Asbos have been issued against under-18s out of a total of 5,557 since their introduction in England and Wales.

Mr Narey said that in some parts of the country the use of Asbos was becoming entirely routine for children. "Asbos have their place but their over-use is unnecessarily catapulting children into a custodial system which has so many children in it that the chances of rehabilitation are extremely slim and the chances of deeper criminalisation very likely."

He urged ministers to introduce new official guidance to restrict the use of Asbos to exceptional cases and insisted that the needs and circumstances of each child should be assessed before an order was imposed.

He also wants legislation to restrict the length of an individual Asbo. At present, the minimum period is two years, which he says "seems like infinity" to a teenager.

"We acknowledge that there is a small minority of children whose behaviour is entirely unacceptable. However, Asbos are a very blunt tool and their use must be confined to the small number of children who really need them," warned Mr Narey.

A Home Office spokesman last night denied Mr Narey's claim that Asbos were only supposed to be used against teenagers in exceptional circumstances.

"There never has been any restriction in place to minimise the use of Asbos against juveniles.

"Since they were introduced in 1999 they have always been available to be imposed on anybody above the age of 10. Home Office guidance issued in March 2003 confirmed that this is still the case."

The spokesman said individual support orders were introduced in May 2004, to be used alongside Asbos for 10- to 17-year-olds, which were designed to address the underlying causes of their behaviour.

The Home Office also maintains that custody is used only as a last resort when dealing with breaches of Asbos by teenagers.